Furnace construction



July 2, 1935. R. D. DE WQLF 2,007,038

v FURNACE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 11, 1935 2 SheetsSheet 1 July 2,1935. R D, DE WOLF 2,007,038

FURNACE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 11, 1935 gm i 273 "i a i 20/ INVENOR 6709261005 0 magi 4Q %z6 ATTO EY Patented July 2, 1935 UNITED STATES FATE? OFFICE 5 Claims.

The present invention relates to wall and arch structures for enclosing a heat chamber such as the combustion chamber of a furnace for use with boilers or for other purposes.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved structure of this class, embodying an eflicient, durable and simplified design and one affording economies in the manufacture and upkeep of the same.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such a structure designed in a manner to facilitate removal and replacement of burned out or damaged parts without weakening the structure or disturbing any adjacent portions thereof and with a minimum loss of time and expenditure for repairs.

A further object of the invention is to simplify and improve the units or elements of construction of the furnace walls to facilitate assembling of the same and to insure cooperation between the elements to firmly unite and bind them together, whereby to afford a strong and dependable structure which will withstand the strains and stresses to which it may be subjected.

A further object of the invention is to provide a structure in which all of the elements will be so united and bound together as to insure surficient strength at all points to take care of the various stresses imposed on the structure and at the same time provide sufficient flexibility to permit the different portions of the structure to give sufiiciently to relieve the strains set up by changing temperature conditions whereby to prevent damaging the structure, as by spelling or breakage of the refractory elements caused by unrelieved mechanical stresses resulting from too great rigidity of the structure.

A further object of the invention is to provide a heat retaining or furnace wall structure of brick-like elements, in combination with a supporting framework and to improve and simplify such a construction in a manner to permit of a reduction in the number of anchoring members or connections between the wall and the frame Work.

A further object of the invention is to provide in combination with a heat retaining or furnace wall of the class described, improved means for insulating and increasing the effectiveness of the construction to insure more economical operation of the furnace.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings I v r Fig. l is a side elevation of a portion of a furnace wall constructed in accordance with the; 5 invention, with the covering partly removed; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation on 1ine'2-2 of Fig. 1; j Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. l is a perspective view of a part ofthe wall" shown in Fig. 1, illustrating certain details; 7 Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the hanger blocks of thewall';

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the wall construc tion shown inFig. 1' with the outer covering and. insulation removed; g Fig. 7 is aperspective View of one of the recessed bricks adapted to overlie the hanger blocks; I w H g Fig. 8 isaperspectiveview of the brick in Fig. 7, in reversed position;

Fig. 9 is a. perspective view of a bricklcorre spending, to those shown in Fig. 6 between the rows containing the anchor blocks; Fig. 10 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 3, showing the use of insulating material between thefurnace wall and the covering therefor; V Fig. 11 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 10 showing a modified arrangement of insu1a-, tion; j

Fig. 12 is a horizontal section through afur-r nace wall having a modified form of skeleton or framework;

. g 20' shown Fig. 13 is a sectional elevation taken substan- 5 tially on line. l3- I3 of Fig. 12, and

Fig. 14 is a perspective view. of a portion of the anchor block, supporting means shown in. Fig. 13.

The same reference numerals throughout several views indicate the same parts.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, there is shown a' portion of one of the side walls of a furnace or other heat enclosure which is designated generally by the. referencecharacterlfi.

There is also provided a skeleton or framework to which the walls of the furnace are tied and with which portions thereof are connected at; intervals. The framework in the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 m4, inclusive, and in Figs. 10 and 11, comprises upright I-beams l I spacedat intervals along the outside of the walls of thefurnace, said beams being provided with suitable braces or connecting members for tying them--55 convergent relation, are alternately reversed as together, which include the horizontal angle bars I2, suitably secured upon the inner flanges of the I-beam as by means of rivets or bolts, not shown. The horizontal flanges [2a of the angle bars constitute ledges for receiving and supporting the anchor blocks I3 of the wall, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The wall structure is formed of refractory or heat resisting elements which are preferably in the form of fire brick or blocks. It will be understood, however, that the form or shape of the elements maybe modified as desired and that the elements may be constructed of any suitable heat resisting material.

The bricks are constructed in a manner to insure their being positively held in place, one through cooperation with another, as described hereinafter, and they are further secured against displacement by a suitable heat resisting bonding material interposed between the adjacent surfaces thereof.

In the. present embodiment of the invention there are three forms of brick shown, aside from the hanger blocks I3, these forms being designated generally by the reference numerals I4, I5, and IS.. The bricks I6 are employed to form the stratified or horizontally disposed layers lying between the layers containing the hanger blocks I3, as best shown in Fig. 6. The brick I6, which have their ends beveled or arranged in shown in Figs. 10, 11, and 12, so that the adjacent. ends of the brick engage and interlock one with another whereby the brick are tied together andfirmly secured one upon another.

The bricks I4 overlying the upper layer of brick I6 are each formed with a pocket or recess .Ila' at. one end for the reception of the wings. orlugs I311 of the hanger blocks I3 as shown in Fig. 6, whereby the recessed brick are positively held inv position by reason of their being in interlockingv engagement with the anchor or hanger blocks.

The bricks I5 are superimposed directly upon the upper ends of the hanger blocks and are reoessed at I511 and provided with pockets I5b for the. reception of that portion of the block I3 extending above the bricks I4, including the wings-or lugs I3a which take into the pockets I52; toprovide. for interlocking engagement between the brick and the hanger blocks. It will be seen, therefore,.that the hanger blocks afford substantial bearing surfaces for the bricks I5 and that they serve to securely tie the brick to the frameworkas indicated by the means shown in Fig. 1c and described hereinafter.

The. bricks I8 which are disposed in the layers containing the bricks I5, have their beveled ends in interlocking engagement with the beveled ends of the bricks I5, as shown, for example, in the upper right hand' corner of Fig. 6. Thus the layer of bricks containing the hanger blocks and the overlying layer are both securely and directly tied to the framework, through the connection of the hanger blocks with the I-beams I I, as shown, for example, in Fig. 10.

Any suitable means may be employed to connect. the hanger blocks with the framework such, for example, as the oppositely disposed bracket members. or connections II, the inner ends of which are curved to fit within the vertically disposed grooves I3b of the hanger blocks and the outer ends of which are oifset to engage behind the rear flanges of the I-beams, said members being connected one with another and. clamped in position by the bolts 18 as shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

The hanger blocks are directly supported by the angle bars 92, on the horizontal flanges of which the outer portions of the blocks rest as shown in Fig. 2. Thus the weight of the wall is carried by the framework. This is an important and decided advantage since where the furnace structure is of considerable height the weight of the upper portion thereof often bears excessively on and tends to subject the brick of the lower portion to undue strain. Furthermore, if the lower portion of the wall has to be removed and replaced for any reason, it is generally necessary to tear down the whole wall, or the greater part thereof, in which case the upper portion would remain unsupported. With the present construction, however, the framework acts as supporting means for the upper portion, even when the lower portion is entirely removed for repairs.

In other words the wall is Stratified horizontally so that repairs can be made in each stratum or group of layers independently of the others. With a furnace having walls constructed in the manner shown every layer is either positively held in place or bonded to another layer which is so held in place, whereby a strong and substantial construction is afforded which is adequately braced by the framework and supported thereby to such an extent as to greatly relieve the refractory elements of one stratum from the pressure of another.

It will be noted that the hanger blocks tied to the frame each have substantial bearing surfaces for the reception of the surrounding bricks in contact therewith, so that said bricks are securely and positively held against displacement.

The several types of brick shown are formed in such a manner as to render them relatively inexpensive to manufacture and their construction is such as to unite and bind them together in a manner to form a strong and unitary wall structure whereby the number of connections between the wall and the framework can be reduced to a minimum, thus economizing in the cost of the construction of the furnace.

It will be understood that the thickness of the furnace walls can be readily increased or decreased by varying the thickness of the refractory elements to the extent desired.

With the present invention the cost of constructing the walls of the furnace is considerably less than it has been heretofore in other furnaces of this general type, and this is particularly true of walls which do not have to be made excessively thick.

Instead of employing I-beams in the construction of the framework, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, channels may be substituted for the I-beams as indicated in Figs. 12 to 14 inclusive. In this arrangement the flanges of the channels 59 are extended inwardly, and located between the same and on the web of the channel are a suitable number of angular brackets 20 which may be suitably connected with the web as, for example, by spot welding.

The hanger blocks are supported on the brackets as shown in Fig. 13 and are connected with the channels by means of the straps 2|, the inner curved portions of which engage the hanger blocks within the grooves lSb thereof, as shown in Fig. 12. The outer ends of the straps are positioned on the flanges of the channels and are secured thereon by means of the bolts 22 extending through the flanges. The channels may be tied together and braced if desired by suitable means, not shown.

The outer covering of the furnace walls may be formed of sheets of any suitable material such, for example, as metal or asbestos millboard, or boards formed of other suitable material. Two of the sheets, indicated at 23 in Fig. 3, are positioned upon the outer flanges of the I-beams II, the joints between the sheets being protected by cover strips 24 secured upon the adjacent edges of the sheets by any suitable means such as the stud bolts 25 which threadedly engage the flanges of the I-beams on opposite sides of the webs thereof.

Similar sheets 23a are positioned upon the channels H), as indicated in Figs. 12 and 13, and may be secured thereon by a plurality of bolts or other suitable means, not shown.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the space between the furnace wall and the covering 23 is left open to provide air circulating channels 01' passages 26 between the I-beams l I, whereby to effectively insure cooling of the walls of the furnace. The air channels may, if desired, be provided with suitable air inlet openings formed in the cover plates adjacent their lower ends, which may be placed under the control of suitable dampers, not shown. If desired the air. circulating channels 26 may be made to open into the interior of the combustion chamber for the passage thereto of the heated air arising in and circulating through the channels around the walls of the furnace. However, the air currents admitted to and discharged through the space between the I-beams or channels and the furnace wall proper may be either in an upward or downward direction or in a transverse or crosswise direction.

However, instead of providing for the cooling of the walls by the circulation of air around the same, they may be protected by the use of suitable insulation interposed between the cover sheets and the walls, as provided for in each of the modifications shown in Figs. 10, 11, and 12.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 10 the outer face of the furnace wall is provided with an insulating covering 21 formed of any suitable material such, for example, as a plastic or plasticlike material, which may be plastered on or applied in the form of prepared sheets. more, the space between the insulation 2? and the cover sheets 23 is preferably filled with any suitable loose insulating material as indicated at 28, which is preferably of a fibrous nature or which may be fibrous material pressed together and held by a suitable wire mesh or other means to form a protecting blanket or sheet suitably secured behind the outer cover plates 23.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 11 the insulating material 21a is similar to that indicated at 21 in Fig. 10, except that the sheets are made thicker as shown, when relatively high temperatures are to be maintained in the combustion chamber of the furnace. The loose or compressed blanket type of insulation indicated at 23a is preferably the same as that shown at 28 in Fig. 10.

The plastic or plastic-like insulating material shown in Figs. 10 and 11 may be omitted, where relatively low furnace temperatures are to be maintained, in which case the loose or compressed fibrous insulating material shown at 29 in Fig. 12 will be sufficient. However, it will be understood that the nature and quantity of insulating material used may be varied tosuit different conditions under which the furnace may Furtherbe operated, or to correspond to the different temperatures to be maintained in the combustion chambers.

The arch of the furnace, not shown, may be formed by using the blocks l3 as hanger brick with the brick M supported thereby and in interlocking engagement therewith to complete the arch structure.

With the present construction a solid wall of refractory brick is provided for the full depth of the wall, and as previously stated the thickness of the wall may be varied according to varying requirements, by increasing or decreasing the thickness of the brick, within certain limits.

By interengaging the beveled or converging ends of the brick and tying them to the spaced hanger blocks a solid unitary wall structure is afforded which obviates the use of a number of specially constructed and expensive parts heretofore employed in walls of this kind. Furthermore the construction is such that the various parts can be more readily assembled and secured than in previous structures of this class so that the labor cost for such work has been considerably reduced, not to mention a reduction in the cost of constructing the several refractory elements disclosed by simplifying the shapes thereof.

A further advantage of the present design, as previously stated, lies in the manner of stratifying the structure so that repairs can be made in each stratum independently of the others, whereby the necessity of having to tear down the greater portion of a wall in repairing the furnace, as has been necessary in previously constructed walls of this class, is avoided.

As above stated it will be evident that the weight of the layers of face brick lying between the different horizontal rows of hanger blocks will be supported by the hanger blocks in the row next below said layers. For example, in Fig. 6 there is shown two horizontal rows of hanger blocks with three layers of face brick therebe tween, the weight of which will be supported by the lower row of hanger blocks. This is true for the reason that each of the brick l on the hanger blocks oi said row supports two of'the brick in the layer next above that in which the bricks l5 are disposed. Furthermore the two bricks supported by each of the brick i5 lie beneath and in supporting engagement with three of the brick in the second layer above that containing the brick l5. It will be seen, therefore that since the hanger blocks of certain of the rows rest on and are supported by the horizontal angle bars of the frame structure, that the weight of the face brick carried by the hanger blocks of said rows will be transferred to the frame structure, thus greatly relieving the pressure of the brick of one section of the wall from that of the overlying sections.

A further and important advantage of the present structure is that none of the parts of the metal supporting structure are embedded in the refractory elements, but on the other hand are free to dissipate the heat to which they are subjected.

I claim:

1. A furnace wall structure, comprising horizontal rows of hanger blocks spaced one above another, horizontal layers of face brick extending between and separating said rows of hanger blocks, each of said hanger blocks having one face brick in one of said layers superimposed thereon and in interlocking engagement therewith said superimposed brick supporting one or more bricks in the layers thereabove, each of said rows having face brick therein at opposite sides of and in interlocking engagement with the hanger blocks, said last mentioned brick engaging the brick of the layers next above and below the same, and a frame structure having parts connected with and supporting said hanger blocks.

2. A furnace wall structure comprising horizontal rows of hanger blocks spaced one above another, superimposed layers of face brick, certain of which layers extend horizontally between said rows and others between the blocks in said rows, the brick in said rows adjacent the opposite sides of the hanger blocks being in interlocking engagement with the blocks, said blocks each having its lower end resting on one brick of one of said layers and each having one brick of another layer superimposed thereon, said superimposed brick supporting one or more bricks in the layers thereabove, said blocks having laterally projecting extensions thereon, and a frame structure having supporting parts for the blocks with which said extensions are connected.

3. A fru'nace wall structure, comprising horizontal rows of hanger blocks spaced one above another, superimposed layers of face brick certain of which extend horizontally between said rows and others between the blocks in said rows, the bricks in said rows having their adjacent ends formed for cooperation one with another to hold them against lateral displacement each of said hanger blocks having one face brick in one of said layers superimposed thereon said last mentioned face bricks being recessed to receive the blocks on which they are disposed and being in interlocking engagement with said blocks, and a frame structure having parts connected with and supporting said hanger blocks.

4. A furnace wall structure, comprising horizontal rows of hanger blocks spaced one above another, superimposed layers of face brick certain of which extend horizontally between said rows and others being disposed in said rows between the blocks thereof, the blocks of said rows having their lower ends resting on certain of the bricks of the layers next below said rows, a plurality of said blocks each having one face brick in one layer superimposed thereon and recessed to receive said block, said superimposed brick supporting one or more bricks in the layers thereabove, the bricks in certain of said layers having their ends in convergent relation, said ends cooperating one with another to hold said bricks against lateral displacement, said hanger blocks having laterally projecting extensions thereon, and a frame structure having parts connected with said extensions and supporting said blocks.

5. A furnace wall structure, comprising spaced upright supporting members, a plurality of anchor blocks supported on each of said members at one side thereof in spaced relation one above another, the blocks on said supporting members being arranged in horizontal rows, a plurality of layers of face brick extending horizontally between and separating the anchor blocks of said rows, certain of the bricks in the layers next adjacent said rows engaging the ends of the blocks therein, additional face brick being disposed in each of said rows between the anchor blocks thereof and in interlocking engagement with said blocks, and means serving to tie said blocks to said upright supporting members.

ROGER D. DE WOLF. 

